Snowboarding Tops Lists For Outdoor Injuries

The first national study to estimate recreational injuries found that more people are hurt snowboarding than any other outdoor activity.

Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control say those injuries account for one-quarter of recreational emergency room visits.

Trailing snowboarding are sledding and hiking, according to the C-D-C report in the journal Wilderness and Environmental Medicine.

The most common problems were broken bones and sprains, accounting for half of all cases. About seven percent of ER visits were for concussions or other brain injuries.

The researchers looked at data on nonfatal injuries from outdoor activities treated at 63 hospitals in 2004 and 2005. They calculated that almost 213,000 people annually were treated for such injuries nationwide. About half of those injured are young between ages 10 and 24 and half of the injuries are caused by falls.

Males are injured at twice the rate of females, but the research didn't look at the reasons.

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